Monday, February 22, 2010

Gluten-free Millet Falafel

Now that I'm gluten-free and living in almost-northern Maine, if I'm hankering for falafel I have to make it myself. My go-to recipe used to be Baked Falafel from the The Whole Foods Market Cookbook (you can see a slightly modified version of it here). A mix of chickpeas, bulgur wheat, breadcrumbs, and seasoning, it was a lighter variation on those traditional dense, fried patties. A few weeks ago I was playing around with millet, and realized it could easily stand in for bulgar wheat in this recipe; cooked with three parts water to one part grain, millet bulks up and gets sticky.

Baked falafel isn't as crispy as fried falafel, and it lacks that dirty street cart je ne sais quoi, but it's a whole lot healthier and easier to prepare. I hate frying at home— oil splatters all over my countertops, it stinks up the kitchen, and it forces me to acknowledge how much hot fat I'm about to eat. If you decide to fry this dough instead of baking it, leave a comment and let us know how it works.

Form heaping tablespoons of dough into balls and use a spatula to gently press them into the oiled cookie sheet. Spray or brush the falafel with olive oil. Bake for 30 minutes, until underside of falafel are lightly browned. Carefully flip the falafel and cook another 10 minutes.

Makes 16.
*Make your own breadcrumbs by drying a few pieces of bread on a rack overnight (or in the microwave, between 2 paper towels—30 to 60 seconds ought to do it). Break the dried bread into chunks and process into crumbs in a blender or food processor. This is a great way to make use of disappointing gluten-free loaves!

What a fabulous idea and a great way to use up some of my underappreciated millet. I am also embarrased to say that I have never tried falafel before, so this will be an excellent experiment for me. :)-K

That looks delicious! I love millet and how it sticks together, but everyone seems so convinced that it's not nutritious because it's "birdfood." Maybe it's not quinoa, but it's not like empty calories either. Millet revolution!

Mmmm...that sounds delicious! I feel the same way about frying at home. I do it occasionally (I mean, a girl's gotta have her beer-battered tofu cutlets), but I always feel so guilty when I can see all the fat I'm eating. It's much more guilt-free to order fried foods in a restaurant.